White House pushes hard to extend jobless benefits

Senate plans vote on extending insurance today

5:46 AM,
Jan. 7, 2014

White House National Economic Council Chairman Gene Sperling speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington on Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. With Congress back, the Senate is expected to work on a three-month extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed.

Written by

Aamer Madhani
| USA Today

With an effort in the Senate to extend federal unemployment insurance facing tough odds, the White House on Monday made one last push before the upper chamber is set to hold a key procedural vote today on a bill to restore benefits for nearly 1.3 million Americans.

Benefits expired for many long-term unemployed Americans Dec. 28 after lawmakers did not extend the program as part of a bipartisan budget agreement. But the Senate is set to consider a bill sponsored by Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., today that would restore benefits for eligible workers for another three months.